Moments
by CSHL
Summary: Originally just a one-shot, but I'm going to make it home for all the CS One-Shots I write. Pretty much all pure fluff!
1. Moments

Hello All. It's been a while since I wrote some FanFiction, and previous to right now I've only ever written FanFiction having to do with Han & Leia from Star Wars. But lately I've been seriously obsessing over CaptainSwan, so I figured I'd just write up a short piece. It's probably got some errors since I don't have a beta reader, and like I said, I haven't written in quite some time (around five months or so).

This is based off of several prompts that I basically just combined, so just go with it.

Reviews always make me happy! =)

* * *

**Moments**

There were exactly five times in which Emma Swan realized she might want to marry Killian Jones. Five moments where the one handed pirate with a drinking problem surprised her to no end, and made her come to terms with the fact that, of all people in the world, he might be her happy ending. Then again, her mother did say that happy endings could sometimes come from the most unexpected places.

Since returning from New York and regaining all her lost memories, Emma tried to return to a normal everyday lifestyle, despite the threats coming left and right from the Wicked Witch of the West. It was that little bit of normalcy that kept her going in the fight. And so, just as every morning, her alarm went off promptly at 7:15. It gave her just enough time to take a shower, dry out her hair and get ready for the day before making the trek down to Granny's for breakfast. On days when Henry stayed with her he would go with her, and they would share their breakfast together over mugs of hot cocoa.

This day was no different from any other, other than Henry was staying with Regina for the weekend. Emma woke, got ready, and walked to Granny's, throwing a 'good morning!' at the older woman and Ruby before sliding into her usual booth at promptly 8:15. After ordering her coffee and grabbing the nearest copy of the morning paper, she began to read the news.

And, as always, promptly at 8:17, he slid into the booth across from her. "Morning, Love," he greeted after a minute, using his hook to get her to lower the paper, causing her only to glare at him. He did this every morning, even when she was with Henry. He would join them in their breakfast, eating and drinking whatever they would. Once and a while he'd pay for their meals as well as his own, but the second Emma offered to pay for his, he'd refuse.

Things had been strange between them since he had found her in New York a few months previous. They had taken things slow, especially since Emma was also dealing with her feelings for Neal. They had both given her plenty of space, other than the usual seeing Neal because of Henry and Hook's daily appearance at breakfast. But while she would never admit it, Emma enjoyed his breakfast visits, because as much as she wanted to deny it, she really HAD enjoyed his company back in Neverland. Before the new curse robbed her of her memories, she had even found reason to believe that maybe there could be something between them. It was what made saying goodbye so hard, but his promise to always think of her somehow led her to continue her life, even if she couldn't remember him.

However, he had found her, and he made her remember, so she was more thankful for him than ever. And when he explained to her one night, after she stormed out of Granny's because of a spat between him and Neal, that he was going to back off and give her space no matter what his feelings were, she wanted to kiss him right there. He didn't know it, or maybe he did, but he had already won anyways.

"Good Morning Hook" Emma responded, finally setting the paper down on the table and grabbing the coffee Ruby had placed beside her only moments before. She took a sip, and he watched her. Ruby would return soon with his own coffee, Emma knew, because this was how this were. This was their normal.

But as much as Emma enjoyed their normal, it was time for a bit of a change. After their usual small talk through breakfast, they reached a null in the conversation. "So," she started when he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. "Are you doing anything later?"

Hook looked startled, "no, I didn't have anything planned. Why? Are you planning something?" he asked, his voice growing lower as he leaned towards her across the table, a smile forming across his face.

"No..yes, I mean.." she stuttered. Emma sighed, "...if you wanted, Henry's at Regina's this weekend and with Mary Margaret and David at their new house, I mean, the apartment is kind of empty and it's not like I want to ask…"

He placed his hand over hers, which was resting on the table, "Hey. You can stop rambling. I'd love to have dinner with you."

Emma stopped speaking and looked back up at him, "Really? I mean, ok. Good" she said, laughing a bit. What was up with her? She never stuttered or rambled. At least she hadn't for a really long time. Probably since she first met Neal. "So," she said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, "I'll see you around 7?"

He smiled again, the same kind of smile that had given her hope before she drove across the town line months ago, "That you will Love." They stood then, and went their separate ways, just as they did every morning.

**~K&E~**

When Seven rolled around later that night, Emma was pulling out mugs from the cabinet when a knock sounded at her door. It wasn't a loud knock, not as forceful as when he had knocked on her door in New York, but she heard it, and quickly set down the mugs to open the door. When she did he greeted her with a smile, "Swan."

"Hey. Right on time" she greeted him, opening the door further and standing aside to let him through. She closed it behind him as he walked further into the apartment, stopping near the table.

"I brought us one of my finest bottles of wine, I hope you don't mind" he commented, holding the bottle out to her with his good hand. She accepted it with a smile in return.

"No problem at all. This must be pretty old if you have it" she teased. "Is it from the Enchanted Forest?"

"Indeed it is Love. I would have brought rum, as I know how fond you are of it, but I felt that wine might be more appropriate for the occasion." Things were awkward for a moment, but she soon set the bottle down on the counter and continued to finish the simple dinner. He helped her, working by her side to stir the pasta from time to time as she flipped the chicken in the pan. They laughed, making jokes here and there. Things were easy between them.

And when they did finally sit down for dinner, the conversation continued until all the food was gone from their plates. Only then was there silence. Hook was the first to speak, "So, Swan. I know I am fairly new to this land and your strange customs, but I do have a question."

"Yeah?" she asked, picking up her plate and standing, grabbing his on her way back to the kitchen and the sink. "And what would that be?"

He followed her, stepping behind her at the sink and invading her personal space, but just barely. "I may have overhead your lovely parents at lunch today. They were speaking of what they call a date, and how they wish you would go on one with Neal?"

Emma swallowed, refusing to move, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up her neck, "They've been trying to do that since before Neverland. Why ask me about it now?"

"Well, love" he continue, his lips ghosting her ear, "I must ask. Is this a date?"

She was silent for a moment. "Only if you want it to be" she finally managed to get out, finally turning to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him that bit closer to her so their bodies pressed together. "Look. I know you said you'd back off and give me space, but I've made my choice." As Emma looked into his eyes she felt like he was looking into her soul, "I want to try us" she whispered before leaning in and softly kissing him.

It was much unlike their first kiss, back in Neverland, and even more different still from their kiss in New York, where he had hoped true loves kiss would revive her of her memories. This kiss was slow and gentle, their lips moving against one another with no urgency in the world. When they did finally pull apart, their foreheads rested against one another. "Emma," he whispered. "Are you sure you want this? I'm a one handed pirate with a…" he began, but she cut him off with another kiss.

"No. You may be one handed, and you may drink a heck of a lot of rum, and you may be a pirate, but you're more than that you know."

And he smiled again, kissing her one more time before she playfully pulled away, unwrapping her arms from his neck, and skipping off to the living room, plopping herself down on the couch. He followed slowly, "What are you up to Love?"

"Well, since this is a date" she laughed, "that we might watch a movie. If that's alright with you, that is."

He sat himself down next to her as she turned on the tv, and he wrapped his good arm around her. "That sounds lovely, but what the bloody hell is a movie?" he asked as Emma leaned into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder as she cued up_ The Princess Bride_.

**~K&E~**

At some point, Emma, supposed, she must have fallen asleep, as when she woke the next morning she wasn't in her bed, and she was certain it was long after 7:15. She was laying on the couch, a blanket draped over her along with the arm of a certain pirate. His body was warm against her back, and she could feel his breath as it fell slightly on the back of her neck.

She didn't want to wake him, not just yet, especially since the nearby clock told her that it wasn't as late as she originally thought, only reading 8:15. They wouldn't make it to their usual breakfast, and Emma knew that the next time she saw Ruby she'd get an earful of questions about where she had been with the pirate, but for some reason, Emma Swan didn't care.

Laying there in his arms on her couch seemed like the most natural thing in the world. And that's when she realized it. This is the new normal she was looking for. There may have been a day once upon a time where she imagined that it would be Neal here with her on the couch, but lately all Emma could imagine was a life like this with Hook. Where they would fall asleep watching a movie and stay there until morning. Where they'd awaken each day in her bed and walk downstairs for breakfast with Henry. A normal life where she'd come home from the Station and he'd be waiting for her, or where he'd spend time on his ship, teaching Henry how to sail.

Emma was interrupted from her thoughts, however, when she felt him place a light kiss on the back of her neck. "Morning Love."

"Good morning Killian" she returned easily. He tightened his grip around his waist, and for the first time, Emma had a thought.

Maybe a life with Killian Jones wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

The second time a thought occurred to Emma Swan, it was after they had been dating for some time. They met for breakfast, as usual, each morning, and he would come to eat dinner with her, and Henry if he was there, every Friday night. On the weekends when Henry was with Regina or Neal, he would sometimes stay with her, or they would return to his ship and she'd spend the night there.

Unlike her previous relationships, everything continued to be as easy as it had been at the beginning. They had their arguments, of course, such as how she wanted to keep their relationship secret or how her parents seemed to still be pushing her towards Neal, but for the most part things continued on a normal base.

So one Friday night, sometime in late spring, when they found themselves lounging on the upper deck of his ship, pillows and blankets surrounding them as they gazed at the stars, it wasn't anything unusual. Emma was curled up next to him, his arm draped under her head as a sort of pillow.

"Killian?" she began, sighing. "You said once that you knew a lot about the stars, right?"

He laughed slightly, "I do love. I use them for navigation. Unlike this land of yours, in the Enchanted Forest we never had what you call a GPS."

Now it was Emma's turn to laugh, nudging him in the side. While she had finally convinced him to begin wearing normal clothing, often consisting of jeans, button down shirts a vest and a leather jacket that Charming had given to him, there were still certain aspects of Storybrooke he just didn't understand. The entire basis of the internet and wireless communication being one of them. It was fine by her though. She'd much rather just go see her pirate than talk to him over the phone.

"What would you like to know?" he asked finally, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Well all I see are these burning balls of gas, millions of miles away. I guess when I was a kid I loved watching them like this, but the stories and the meanings were always lost on me."

Killian kissed her forehead briefly, "The stars are much more than that Love. To a pirate on the seas, they can be his only friend, other than his ship of course. They can lead to stories as old as time itself. But most of all, they can lead him home, much like they led me back to you."

She smiled then, leaning further against him and wrapping her arm over his chest. "How come you always know what to say?"

"What do you mean, love?"

"You always know exactly the right words. I mean, back before the curse you told me you'd always think of me, and before that, back in the Echo Cave you gave that whole speech. And whenever I would be afraid we wouldn't find Henry, you were there with words of comfort. You didn't learn that from the stars, did you?" she asked as she pulled her head up so she could look at him.

"I may be able to tell you about the stars, but I honestly can't tell you how I know what to say. Just a gift I guess. One of many" he suggested, his eyebrow raising. Emma let out a huff and settled back into his embrace.

They stayed there in silence for a while, watching the sky. "Killian?" she asked again, breaking the silence for the second time.

"Yes, love?"

"I uh…" she began, but lost her words. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Emma found herself wanting to ask him if they wanted to change their normal once again. She realized she was about to ask him to move in with them. Her and Henry. To live there with her like a happy family.

A family.

"Emma?" he asked again when she didn't continue her response further.

"Nothing. I was just going to ask if you wanted to join us for dinner with my parents on Sunday." Like a family.

Killian kissed the top of her head, "I'd love to."

And once again, Emma had a thought.

Maybe having a family with Killian Jones wouldn't be so bad either.

* * *

The next thought that occurred to Emma Swan came about a month later. Henry had been with them for the weekend, and just as always, Killian joined them for dinner in the apartment. They stood there, like a family, preparing their homemade tacos. Henry set the table, Emma chopped the vegetables and Hook stood, gently browning the meat in the pan. The tea kettle warmed on the stove, readying the water for the three mugs of hot cocoa sitting on the counter nearby, just waiting to be topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Once everything was finished they sat and ate, Henry telling them casually about school and about the great time he had with Grace the other day. Killian and Emma shared a glance as he went on and on about the young girl, but continued eating their dinner none the less.

And when the tacos had disappeared from their plates, Henry grabbed the dishes and brought them to the sink, where Emma helped him wash and Killian dried, a towel wrapped expertly around his hook so he could dry each dish. They worked like that, perfectly in sync with one another until each dish was put away.

"Mom, can we watch a movie?" Henry asked as he closed the last cabinet.

"Did you finish your homework already?" she returned smoothly, and Killian found himself admiring how well she obviously fit into the role of his mother.

Henry looked up at her with pleading eyes, "No, but mom, it's Friday, and Killian's here and please!?" he asked again.

Emma sighed and turned to Killian, "You want to stay for a movie?"

"Do you want me to stay?" he asked, his voice light.

"Of course."

Killian smiled, looking at Henry and then back to Emma, "As you wish" he replied simply.

So they settled in on the couch, much like Killian and Emma had done months before, and she hit play on _The Princess Bride_ once again. It had become one of her favorite films, especially when she was in New York without her memories. Back then she had no idea why she had the urge to watch the film over and over again, but she did. Of course, when she regained her memories it became obvious why the film had stuck with her.

And Killian knew it too.

After watching the movie a few times, he would drop 'As you wish' into their conversations as much as possible. Emma knew it too, especially when he said it in front of her parents twice in one sitting and her mother gave her a look worth a million words. He would say it when they went for breakfast at Granny's, when he came to visit her at the station, when he accompanied her to pick up Henry from school, when they were alone in the apartment, or when Henry was there with them, much like he had done only minutes before.

Whenever it was said in the film, Emma could feel his gaze on her, and in response she would only curl closer to his warm form. Henry sat on his other side, but eventually ended up asleep with his head on Killian's leg. She was about to fall asleep herself when Emma found that the movie was ending. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms over her head before looking at the two men beside her.

Killian looked back at her for a moment, but stood carefully moved Henry's head from his lap and stood. He carefully wrapped his bad arm under Henry's legs and his good arm around his shoulders, lifting him so his head was resting against his chest. He carried him slowly up the stairs, careful not to wake him, until they reached Henry's bedroom. Emma followed, stopping in the doorway as she watched her pirate lower her son to the bed and bring the covers over his body.

Moments later she joined him next to the bed, leaning down and kissing Henry on the forehead before grabbing Killian's hand and leading him out of the room, gently closing the door behind them. "I suppose I should go" he whispered, placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah, I suppose you should" she agreed. Although they had been dating for months and Henry adored Killian, they had a rule that he didn't stay the night if Henry were there, and if they were to fall asleep on the couch or something, that's where they would stay. Hook warmed her bed plenty of other nights anyways.

They walked back down the stairs and he got ready to leave, pulling on his leather jacket and stepping towards the door. "You're coming to breakfast tomorrow, right?" she asked, although she knew it was a silly question.

"As you wish" he returned, pulling her in for a goodnight kiss before opening the door.

She had closed the door and he was halfway down the stairs when she realized it. Throwing open the door she raced after him. "Killian" she breathed, looking up at him.

"Emma" he returned, smiling.

"I love you" Emma returned, as if it were the easiest thing she had ever said.

Killian's grin just grew wider, "I know. Open book, remember?"

Emma punched him in the arm, but quickly pulled him in for a kiss. "I suppose you really do have to go now" she said after they pulled apart.

"Only if you wish it" he returned once again. And while she didn't, she just nodded and started back up the stairs.

"Emma" he said from the bottom, stopping her before she could turn the corner to go back into her apartment. "Just so you know...when I say…"

"I know" she cut him off.

And Emma realized that maybe loving Killian Jones wasn't as hard as people made it out to be.

* * *

She was sick. So very, very sick. Emma had tried to go into the station, but David watched her walk in and sent her right back out the door. It wasn't even all that bad. Just the average cold, or flu, or whatever it was that she had.

Granted, she hadn't felt this horrible since...well...ever.

Reluctantly, Emma followed her father's orders and returned to the apartment. Luckily Henry was staying with Neal for a couple days, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting him sick. As she walked through her front door, Emma slowly took off her coat, her shoulders aching as she did so, and kicked off her shoes. Knowing that she wouldn't even make it back up the stairs to her bedroom, she collapsed on the couch, grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. It wasn't anything interesting, just some sort of daily morning infomercial. So it was no surprise that she found herself asleep in no time.

**~K&E~**

When he knocked on her door and got no response, Killian was worried. He knew she had to either be in her apartment or lying dead somewhere on the street, but the later seemed largely impossible since he would have traced her footsteps home from the station. He knew she hadn't been feeling well, as she had called him to tell him she was skipping breakfast that morning but was still going into work. So that's where he had checked first, bringing her a hot cup of hot cocoa and cinnamon to the station only to find that David had sent her home.

He knocked again and waited. No answer. Grabbing the spare key he knew lived under the mat, he used it to open the door, the cup of hot cocoa resting safely in the curve of his hook. "Emma?" he called out, only to notice the TV running and the woman in question laying sound asleep across the couch. Killian just shook his head, throwing the spare key back under the mat and shutting the door quietly behind him.

He set the cocoa on the table before walking towards her. She was snoring lightly, and he could see in her unconscious expression that sleep was not coming easy to her, despite how tired she looked with the dark circles under her eyes. Killian shut the TV off and then gently picked her up in his arms. She woke with her head resting against his shoulder and jumped a bit, but he soothed her quietly. "Hey beautiful."

"What are you doing here?" she asked quickly. "I'm sick. You can't get sick too."

"Do you really think that a little bug is going to keep me from taking care of the woman I love?" He tightened her grip on her. "Do you know what kind of form it would be if I did that and left you here alone to die?"

"Killian, I am not going to die" she continued as he carried her up the stairs to her room. Once they reached her doorway she squirmed in his grasp. "Now put me down."

"Since you didn't answer my question, I'll answer it for you. It'd be bad form, very bad form." Killian finally gently put her down on the bed, but she was up in a second, her head spinning from the quick motion. He placed his hand on her shoulder to help steady her. "Woah woah woah, what do you think you're doing?"

"Trying to get you away from me! You're going to get sick!"

"I'm wounded, love. Here I was thinking you loved me and now all you wish is for me to leave you alone" he said with a smile.

"Killian" Emma said sternly.

"I'm not leaving Emma, no matter how much you want me to. I'm going to stay right here." With that, Killian plopped down on her bed, arms crossed, refusing to move. "So, you have two options. You can either let me take care of you or I'll just sit right here until you fall asleep and then I'll go find you some soup."

Emma stared at him. "You're really not going to leave, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Not even if I wish it?"

He glanced up at her, "now that's just not fair" he said, pulling her closer to him. She attempted to release herself from his grasp to no avail. "What do you say, love? Are you going to let me take care of you?"

Emma sighed. "I suppose so. I just don't want you getting sick."

"I'll be fine. Now. You on the other hand. You need to change, although I'd much prefer you without any clothes at all."

She swatted in him on the arm, "do you ever stop?"

"I'm sure you would despair if I did" he grinned.

"That I would" she agreed, finally escaping from his arms and moving to her closet to find something comfortable, and warm, to put on. He rose from his spot on the bed and quickly made his way down the stairs, yelling behind him.

"When you're all dressed get in that bed. I'll be right back!"

Emma couldn't help but laugh. Never in a million years did she think that she'd be in bed sick with Captain Hook taking care of her, refusing to leave her side. He spent the next day like that, laying in her bed with her, his arm around her shoulders as they watched movies. He brought her tissues and what seemed like endless bowls of soup and glasses of water and hot cocoa. And that night, she asked him to stay, although she was sure he would have done so anyways.

He found his usual pajamas in her closet and pulled them on as she snuggled up in her bed, and he joined her minutes later, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his solid chest. It was like she belonged there, that he belonged there.

And then Emma Swan had yet another realization.

Maybe it was time for Killian Jones to live there. With her. With Henry. Like a family.

* * *

The fifth time Emma Swan came to a realization, it was many, many months after she asked him to move in with them. They had asked Henry first, of course, but his only response had been "finally!" Killian and Emma had just laughed, and they spent a day not long after that moving the last of his few possessions into the apartment. The Jolly would stay docked, and they would visit her often, taking her out for one of Henry's sailing lessons or just for a day of leisurely time out on the water. But for the most part, Killian became a constant part of their lives. Not much different from how he had been before, but now more than ever.

But that wasn't the only change that had come about Storybrooke in the past year. Emma found herself a big sister to a younger brother, born months ago to David and Mary Margaret. Little James looked almost exactly like his mother, but had his father's eyes, and he could never have too much attention.

The first time they saw him, in the hospital, Emma held him close to her. All she had when it came to holding Henry as a baby was some false memories, ones that she was eventually able to sort out from the truth, so when she held her younger brother she couldn't look away. Killian stood beside her, looking down at the young boy, and when Emma looked up to her parents in silent permission, to which they nodded their heads, she gently handed him over to Killian. She'd never forget the look on his face the first time he held James, and it warmed her heart to see her pirate holding the newborn.

As time went by, Killian held James often enough, such as right now. Emma was flying through the apartment, grabbing everything she needed as she prepared to leave. James wasn't the only change in the town either. Finally, after over a year of engagement due to the entire second curse and so on and so forth, Ashley and Sean were finally getting married. Because of the entire ordeal with their daughter, Alex, and Mr. Gold, Ashley had promptly asked Emma to be her maid of honor, to which she graciously accepted.

Little did Emma know just how much work planning a wedding was. Ashley didn't have any family, and Sean's father was still somewhat unsupportive of the marriage, so Emma and Mary Margaret stepped in to help plan. As the days went by Emma found herself trying carefully to balance her work as Sheriff and the wedding and Killian and Henry, as well as spending time with her parents and baby James. Luckily she had Neal and Regina and Killian all to rely on for help if Henry needed it, although he was smart enough to get by on his own half the time.

But now that the actual day was there, she found herself going crazy. "Calm down, love. We'll be on time" Killian spoke softly as to not wake the baby sleeping soundly in his arms. Mary Margaret and Charming were both members of the wedding party as well, so they had left Killian in charge of James for the time being. Henry was helping of course.

"I can't just be on time! I should have been there five minutes ago! I'm the freaking maid of honor!"

"And you'll get there. The car's already running, we're already dressed and ready, right mate?" he asked Henry, who nodded his head. "So just slow down for a second."

He was met with a glare as she ran back up the stairs to grab her shoes. "I guess not. Come on lad, let's go get this little guy settled into the car." They walked down the stairs and Henry helped him get James into the little yellow bug before climbing in themselves. Moments later Emma finally appeared, her deep blue dress waving in the wind as she walked around the car and got in.

"Everyone ready?"

"Ready!" Henry replied from the backseat before she started them off to the wedding.

**~K&E~**

The ceremony was beautiful. The church was covered in brilliant blue and white flowers, and was packed full of people from all over the community, some of which Emma only knew because she had helped send out the invitations. They moved onto the reception, and Killian finally handed young James back to his parents before sitting at a table, Henry on his right side and Emma on his left.

The meal and reception went on without a hitch, and soon enough Emma found herself mingling with the guests. Music played and at some point she lost track of Killian and Henry, who were lost somewhere in the crowd. She noted her parents sitting, James in his mothers lap, laughing as they played with him. Ashley and Sean danced, and their daughter ran up to them, tugging on her mother's dress. Sean quickly picked her up and they danced together as a family.

_A family._

She finally found Killian and Henry, and quickly joined them where they were sitting at the table, just having finished another round of obnoxious dancing. She was barely able to say hello when an older woman Emma did not recognize approached them, placing her hand on Emma's shoulder. "Emma, I'd just like to compliment you. You did a wonderful job arranging this wedding."

"Well thank you" she replied. "It's not really my forte, and Mary Margaret did a good portion of the work, but…"

"And these two" she said, looking to Killian and Henry. "Such a wonderful family you have. I saw you two practicing your sword fighting a week ago or so. I never saw much of it back in the Enchanted Forest, but I must say. You both had quite the good form. Like father, like son, right?" she asked, glancing at Emma.

"Oh I'm not…" Killian started just as Emma began to reply "He's not his…"

But it was Henry that spoke for all of them. "Yeah, dad's been doing a great job of teaching me." Killian looked shocked, and Emma found that she couldn't do anything but glance between the two most important men in her life. She met Killian's gaze and realized something.

Maybe marrying Killian Jones was exactly what she wanted.

**~K&E~**

A month later Emma found herself surrounded by her closest friends and family at her 31st birthday party, but there was only one man she had her eyes on when he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. And she couldn't of been happier.

Six months after that she was dancing at her own wedding. Henry had been the best man, Ruby and Ashley her co-maids of honor, and James the ring bearer. And she was happy.

Ten months following she found herself holding her own son, Liam, as Killian sat by her side, the young baby grabbing onto his father's finger and holding it tight.

And finally Emma came to one last realization.

She had found her happy ending.


	2. Hot Cocoa & Pumpkin Pie

**Here's a little bit of Christmas CaptainSwan Fluff for you. It was just an idea that kind of popped into my head while I was drinking my daily hot chocolate with cinnamon (it's a thing I'm doing during this hiatus). **

**Disclaimer: If Killian Jones was at my door because I owned him do you really think we'd be here right now? **

**Thanks for reading, and feel free to review!**

* * *

Hot Cocoa & Pumpkin Pie

Emma Swan couldn't say she wasn't disappointed. As an orphan in the foster system, Christmas wasn't exactly the best time of the year, unlike everyone else seemed to think. In fact, she could only recall three years where she was in an actual home for Christmas, and while she had gotten presents, when she was sent back to the Adoption Agency, those toys often stayed behind. There wasn't room in the Orphanage for a bunch of toys.

The other years, Emma spent Christmas with the other children, and the only thing special about it for her was the special dinner ending in hot chocolate and pumpkin pie. It was only because of those that she even remotely liked Christmas.

When she was older and out of the foster system, she spent her first Christmas with Neal, and they had celebrated in the only way they knew how: a raid on a small grocery store and a somewhat real meal made up of fried chicken, some cold potatoes and, of course, pumpkin pie and hot chocolate. It was the first Christmas Emma had actually felt like a part of something. Like she was part of a family.

The next Christmas she found herself in jail. Neal gone, a baby growing inside of her, and no pumpkin pie or hot chocolate to be found.

For the years after that she celebrated alone. Sometimes she'd make a meal of her own, but more often than not she'd just order in some Chinese and avoid watching the Christmas movies that filled the television. They only reminded her of the family she almost had.

Her first Christmas in Storybrooke, then, should have been happy. She should have been rejoicing in the fact that for the first time, she really did have a family. Emma was surrounded by people who loved her. But she wasn't surrounded by everyone she loved.

Sitting on the couch in her red dress, Emma watched quietly as her family opened their gifts. Regina was sitting next to Robin, their hands clasped together as they watched Roland play with his newest toy. Charming sat in a nearby chair, Snow on the floor next to him with her head against his knee, watching Henry open the gift they brought for him. Archie was talking to Tink about Pongo, who decided his newest friend was the fairy. Even Neal was busy, talking excitedly to Rumple and Belle.

Things had calmed down between Emma and Neal, after she had finally forgiven him, but slowly let him down, explaining that while she would always love him, she wasn't in love with him. They agreed, and worked with Regina to split Henry's time as best they could. He did most of the deciding on who he wanted to be with, of course, but they all saw him often enough.

But as Emma sat and watched them open presents and hold hands and talk to one another, she couldn't help but feel alone. Like if she stood up and left no one would even notice. None of them had noticed her fake smile, had they? So why should they notice if she disappeared for a few minutes?

After a split second decision, Emma did just that. Mary Margaret looked her way, and Emma glanced at her, hoping to convey that everything was fine and that she was just going for a walk. Neal did the same, but didn't say anything as she grabbed her coat and walked out the door.

It didn't take long for Emma to find herself at the docks. Even before Hook showed up in her life, it had been the spot she used for thinking. Henry had spent a lot of his time there until the castle was gone, and Emma found that the beach and the rolling water calmed her down. It had only felt like a few short months ago that she had sat there after returning from Neverland, glancing at Hook's ship while pondering Henry's change in behavior.

Now, however, Emma walked calmly along the docks themselves, her heels clicking as she approached the ship. There wasn't much of a sign that he was there, but a part of her knew he would be. Hook wasn't one to just show up at a party he wasn't invited to in Storybrooke, despite what he may have done in the past. And considering the dislike of him from much of the town, she doubted anyone invited them to their tight knit Christmas celebrations.

Which meant he'd be alone, just like she felt.

Walking up the gangplank, she quietly called out for him but received no answer. She ventured down to the cabins and listened for a moment, pausing outside his door before knocking.

"Come in!" came the response from the other side, and she slowly opened the door to reveal the Captain's Quarters. She had only seen them once, back when they had rescued Henry, but she didn't really have the time to appreciate them. The walls were white, the soft glow of the lanterns he had lit reflecting off of them. Across from her it was obvious that at one time intricate woodwork had been a part of the decor, but it had slowly worn away. A large table that doubled as a desk sat in the middle of the room, a couple of chairs sticking out from it. The top was covered in papers: star charts, drawings, and several gold coins.

As her eyes traveled up they finally met Hook's. He was sitting on the bunk on the opposite side of the room, the bed covered in plush red pillows and thick blankets. It was cold on the ship though, so she wondered how he was just sitting there in his usual leather, but without is jacket.

"Something I can help you with, Love?" he asked as she finally took a full step into the room and closed the door behind her. Slowly turning around, she met his gaze again.

"Well, I was just…." she started.

"I thought you were at your Christmas party with your family?" he interrupted before she could go any further.

"I was, but I just kept thinking about how you were probably here all alone, and how no one should be alone on Christmas."

"Oh?" he continued, standing and beginning to walk towards her. "You were thinking about me?"

"No, I just…"

Hook laughed, "You forget I can read you like an open book." He was next to her now, his fingers reaching up to adjust a few curls of her hair against her shoulder. "We both know that you're here not because you were afraid I was alone, but because you were the one alone." Emma opened her mouth as if to give an answer, but she knew it would do no good. He had read her mind. "But since you brought it up, yes, I was somewhat lonely before you showed up. Especially since I haven't seen you all day and was beginning to fear I wouldn't be able to give you your present."

He turned, walking back to the opposite side of the room and going in a cabinet as she tried to protest, "Hook, I didn't get you anything…"

"That's fine. It doesn't mean I can't get you something" he continued, straightening up, a box in his hand as he made his way back to her. "Here," he held the small package out to her, "Merry Christmas."

Emma gently took the gift from him. It was wrapped simply, in brown paper, but had a bright red ribbon tied around the top. She noticed it was much like the one wrapped around the gifts Mary Margaret had given, and realized that her mother may have had something to do with the gift from the pirate. Still, she smiled, looking at him for a moment longer before turning the gift and unwrapping it.

Underneath the brown paper sat a small black box, and she opened it carefully, revealing a beautiful necklace with a swan shaped pendant. "Hook, this must have cost you a fortune" Emma said, looking back at him, and then alternating between the gift and his eyes.

"No no, it's fine. It's the least I could do after everything you have done for me."

"Everything I've done for you?" she asked, questioning him as he motioned for her to turn around so he could put the necklace on. She removed her coat and threw it over the nearby chair before handing him the necklace and turning around.

"Well, you have changed my entire outlook on life Love. Without you I'd still be filled with hatred and a want for revenge" he spoke firmly, carefully using his hand and Hook to secure the necklace around her neck. How he did it she had no idea, but he managed to.

Instinctively she placed her hand on top of the swan resting on her chest, and turned to face him again, "I suppose, but you've done more than enough for me to repay that."

"You underestimate what you have done" he continued. "You've given me everything Emma, and not just a reason to give up my revenge. You've given me a reason to live, a reason to find hope again. You've helped give me a home here in Storybrooke, and more than anything else, you've shown me that Milah wouldn't want me to wallow in pity. You've given me something to love."

"And what is it you love, other than your rum, of course?" she asked, smiling and teasing.

"You." And she saw it. She could see the love in his eyes, the same love that had been there in Neverland, and the love she remembered from the moment she appeared on her doorstep in New York.

"And how could you love me? I'm an orphan" she whispered.

"What's not to love about you? You may be an orphan, Emma, but you're also a strong, beautiful, independent lass who also happens to be a wonderful mother. You've enchanted everyone in this town, and yet you cut yourself short."

"Then how come no one noticed how unhappy I've been all day? If I've enchanted them so much I suppose I should at least be happy, but I'm not. They're my family but it didn't feel right."

"If it makes you feel any better, I noticed you were unhappy the second you knocked on my door tonight."

"Right, open book" she muttered, looking down. She could feel her walls crumbling around her, the walls she had put up with multiple force after Neal had left her. The walls that had only grown higher in Neverland and after they got back.

Hook cleared his throat, breaking their silence, "Listen. It's kind of chilly here, is it not?" he asked. "Why don't we go to Granny's and get ourselves some of that hot chocolate you love so much?"

Emma laughed, "Is Granny's even open?"

"I don't know, but we shall find out" he returned with a smile, holding up her coat so she could slip her arms through it. He had his own long jacket on moments later, and he held out his arm for her to take.

They walked to Granny's slowly, her arm tucked neatly into his, leaning up against him, partly for warmth and partly because it just felt right. Conversation went from holiday traditions in Storybrooke to ones he had participated in back in the Enchanted Forest, since although Christmas was not a tradition, there were holidays similar, where people would bring gifts for one another and they would share grand meals.

When they did finally reach Granny's it appeared to be closed, and Emma tried to tug him away, back to the ship or her apartment, she didn't know. But he insisted, and when he reached to open the door, Emma was surprised to find it wasn't locked. He ushered them inside.

There, at the booth they usually sat at, were two plates of Pumpkin Pie, two steaming mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream, and a could of candles. He led her to the table and helped her with her coat, being the gentleman he always was, before removing his own jacket and sitting across from her.

"How did you...this isn't more of the whole open book thing?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

Hook laughed, "No, this time I had a little help."

"Explain yourself, pirate" Emma said quickly before grabbing a fork and digging into the pie.

"Well, I was speaking with your mother the other day, and she was telling me about her plans for Christmas. Something about turkey and beans and a pumpkin pie that you insisted on because it was something you always had as a kid. The hot chocolate was my addition though, since I know you favour it so much. She actually also invited me to your party, but I politely declined.

"Why?" she asked quickly, a little too quickly. "I mean, why did you turn her down? You are more than welcome to come to our meals."

"I just didn't feel it was my place. Plus, if I had come I wouldn't of been able to set this up" he smirked.

"Well, just so you know, I missed you. Even if no one else did, I noticed your absence" she admitted, much to even her surprise.

"Ah, so the lass finally speaks the truth."

"Oh shut up" Emma replied, taking another bite of her pie.

**~K&E~**

After at least an hour of sitting and talking, their pie long gone, their mugs drained and the candles beginning to burn down, they left the diner. Hook expected her to want to return to her apartment, but he found her clinging onto his arm all the way back to the docks, her head on his shoulder.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this Love, but don't you want to return to your family? I'm sure by now they're missing you."

She looked in the direction of the apartment, "I suppose, but they'll just have to deal with it. I'll text Mary Margaret later to let her know where I am, and Henry was supposed to stay with Regina tonight anyways." They had stopped, and when she looked at him, he had a confused look in his eye. "What?"

"It's just...you're not going back?"

"Why, did you want me to?"

"No no, it's fine. I just never imagined you'd want to stay with me, a pirate, on my ship."

"Hey" she said, reaching to cup his face in her palm, "you remember that time, back in Neverland, when you said that you'd win my heart?"

"Of course, Love."

"Well, you've won it" she whispered before leaning into kiss him. Her other hand tangled in his hair, and his hook trailed around to the small of her back, pulling her closer as his fingers weaved into her own golden locks.

When they pulled apart a while later, they were both breathing heavily. "You're not lying to me, right?" he inquired, "not playing with my heart or anything?"

Emma laughed, "No. I choose you, pirate."

With that he surprised her by reaching down and picking her up, bridal style. His hooked arm looped under her legs and his good arm supported her shoulders, his hand keeping her firmly in his grasp as he started to walk back to his ship.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, wiggling in his grasp. "Put me down!" she continued, but they both knew she didn't mean it.

Killian Jones had won, and Emma Swan was finally happy.


	3. The Star on Top

**Just another little one-shot I wrote the other day because I was in the Christmas mood. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time, do you really think I'd be here right now?**

**Thanks for reading, and reviews make my Christmas brighter! =)**

* * *

The Star on Top

It had been almost two years since the second curse brought them all back to the Enchanted Forest, sans Emma and Henry, and it had been almost a year since he found them in New York. Eight months had passed since they officially started dating, and a month since he had finally moved into the apartment with her and Henry.

So when this strange time of year called Christmas came around for the first time in their newly normal found life, he had no clue what to think. Hook had his expectations, of course, and while he had a nice voice, running around town singing carols about bloody snow didn't sound appealing. Then again, he never expected to find himself here either.

Henry laughed as Emma placed a bow on top of Killian's head, "He's the perfect Christmas tree!" He was wrapped up in garland and the Christmas lights he had previously been attempting to fix. As a joke, Emma and Henry had placed a few ornaments over the edges of the garland, only causing Killian to glare at them further. A bow was tied neatly around the hook at the end of his arm.

When he continued to scowl they only laughed harder. "Oh come on Killian, lighten up" Emma insisted, pulling him into a quick kiss just as Henry plugged in the Christmas lights and they finally turned on. She turned and looked at Henry as if to scold him, but the second she looked back at Hook, she couldn't keep herself from laughing.

"You know Swan," he began, looking between her and her son, "You two aren't really making my first impression of this holiday a good one."

"That's just because you haven't gotten any presents yet" she said, stepping closer to him and lowering her voice so Henry couldn't hear her. Emma wrapped an arm around his waist and her other hand wove into his hair, being mindful of the bow still sitting on the top of his head.

He glanced past her to make sure Henry was preoccupied with something else, in this case continuing to put ornament after ornament on the real tree, before looking back down at her. "What exactly did you have in mind, Love?"

"There is this other tradition with this plant" she said, imitating his accent, "and how when you stand underneath it you have to kiss the person there with you." Emma leaned closer still, her breath dancing over his lips.

He tilted his head slightly, "I rather believe we need to find this plant, Swan."

Emma glanced up for a moment, her eyes lingering on the mistletoe already hanging directly above their heads, "Looks like we already have." And then she kissed him, her lips firm against his as he reached his good hand to hold her head close to his and his other arm linked around her waist, tugging her against him.

"Oh get a room" Henry muttered from beside the tree, his hands on his hips as he glared at Emma and Killian. They pulled away quickly, a blush rising up her neck while Hook just laughed. She swatted him on the arm as she moved back nearer to Henry.

When Hook finally untangled himself from the garland and the lights a few minutes later, he stood next to Emma and Henry as they placed the last of the ornaments on the Christmas Tree. All that was left was the star on the top, and Henry insisted he had to put it on. "Please Mom? I always put it on!" Emma couldn't argue with that, except the tree was tall enough that there would be no way Henry would reach the top. Their tree back in New York had been much smaller, and he was always able to stand on the couch and just reach to the top and place the star on.

She sighed, "Henry, I don't know. How are you going to…" But before Emma could say anything further, she turned around to see Henry sitting atop Killian's shoulders, placing the star on the top of the tree. "What are you doing? Trying to kill him? Henry!"

"It's fine love" Killian said with a huff as he helped Henry back down. "He's a bit heavy, but nothing I can't handle." He winked at her before he moved beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and motioning Henry over to join them. They stood there for a minute, appreciating their hard work, before turning to go make some hot cocoa.


	4. Christmas Presents

**Merry Christmas everyone! I was going to write something different tonight, since I went for a walk earlier and had some other ideas, but this one just kind of made it's way out of my head and onto the page! **

**If you want, review with a prompt you'd like me to write, or send me a PM. I'm looking for prompts for these two because, well, Christmas is going to be over very very soon, and it's not like I can keep writing Christmas Fluff forever. I need to get through this Hiatus somehow! **

**Disclaimer: I asked Santa for Colin O'Donoghue...or Captain Hook...or even one of Colin's twins in this world, but woke to find no such man under my Christmas tree. In other words...I still don't own Once.**

**Enjoy & Merry Christmas again!**

* * *

Christmas Presents

"They're going to be here any minute!" Emma yelled, running quickly down the stairs and almost straight into Killian. He laughed, and quickly put his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace, one that she only attempted to release herself from. "Killian, let me go! They're going to be here and…" she continued before he cut her off with a searing kiss. She relaxed into him for a minute before putting her hands firmly on his chest and pushing him away, "Really, I don't have time for this!"

"What you need is to calm down Love. No one is going to be happy if you're stressed out, least of all me" he commented as he let her go, watching her rush into the kitchen to pull the potatoes out of the oven. He followed her, moving to wrap his arms around her from behind, but she continuously moved out of his grasp. "Emma, calm down. Everything's going to be perfect!"

She did stop, but just glared at him, "This has to be more than perfect. My mom always throws wonderful holiday parties and you know that I'm doing this because of James and because they've been so busy and her meals are always so perfect and…"

"You feel like you have to live up to hers, right Lass?" he asked, smirking because of his ability to read her.

Emma sighed, "I suppose so. I've just never been that great of a cook in the first place, so I'm amazed this place hasn't burned down yet." She placed the warm pot she was holding down on the hot pad and then turned to her husband, "You really think it's gonna be ok?"

He walked towards her, grabbing her hands in his own, rubbing the fingers of his newly reattached left hand over her palm. "If anyone can pull this off, you can" he replied. "Plus, I have yet to see you fail."

She pulled her right hand from his and placed it on his cheek, slowly pulling him into a soft kiss. "Thank you" she said when they fell apart. "But I really have to finish this food."

"Anything I can do to help, Love?" Killian asked as she scurried back to work. "If you remember, I have two hands now!" He was quite proud of that fact. It had only been a couple of weeks since the return of his hand, which had been an early Christmas present from Rumple and Belle. Of course, Gold had first rejected the idea, but Belle brought him around, and encouraged him to return the pirate's hand.

Killian had been overjoyed of course, and had spent the night "celebrating" with Emma. It also meant that he would finally be able to wear his wedding ring, although they had gotten married months before in a small summer wedding. So now, even weeks later, he never failed to slip in the fact that he had two hands for the first time in 300 years.

"As a matter of fact, yes" Emma responded, checking to see how the ham was coming along. She pointed to a pot on the stove, which was currently filled with green beans, "Check on those and make sure they don't overcook." They stood there, side by side, finishing the meal and stealing the occasional kiss here and there, until a knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it, you finish this up" Killian said before moving to get the door. He opened it and was attacked by Henry, who pulled him into a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas Dad!" the young boy said excitedly, and Emma watched from the counter as Killian smiled and hugged his stepson back. Months previous even to the wedding, Henry had started calling Killian Dad, which made things more confusing than ever. With two moms, a biological father, and two stepfathers, it was sometimes difficult to tell who he was talking about. So when all of his family was in one spot, he called them by their actual names, but Emma knew Killian appreciated the gesture of the occasional "Hey Dad!" more than he would admit to anyone.

"Merry Christmas Lad!" Killian returned when Henry finally released him. Regina, along with Robin and Roland, weren't far behind, each of them wishing Killian and Merry Christmas as they made their way through the door. Henry rushed to hug Emma before running to help Roland and Robin put the Christmas presents under the tree. Everyone had saved all their presents until the party. Because their family was so messed up, it was just easier to do everyone's in one spot, meaning that there were gifts for everyone, from everyone.

"Merry Christmas Emma" Regina commented, placing her dish of lasagna on the counter. Emma had just returned the greeting when another knock sounded at the door.

"I'll get it!" Roland piped up, rushing to open it, revealing Snow and Charming, their new son James tucked in his mother's arms. James had been born only a month previous, on Thanksgiving of all days, meaning that they had plenty to be thankful for that year. Charming balanced a pie in one hand and a bag of gifts in the other, which he handed to Roland for under the tree.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Snow said happily as they moved further into the apartment. After their greetings, Charming took James and sat with Robin and Killian and the boys in the living room while the ladies finished up the last of dinner. Finally, Rumple and Belle, their young daughter Anne, Neal and Tinkerbelle appeared at the door, rounding out the family all gathering. Neal and Tink had, eventually, fallen into some sort of relationship, and while fairies originally weren't supposed to fall in love, Blue decided that the rules should be updated.

With everyone in the apartment, it was crowded. The underside of the tree was filled with presents, children ran rampant around, even Henry at the age of 14. Food was placed on the extended table, candles lit, and eventually everyone sat down in their respective seats. They ate until everyone was filled, and much to Emma's surprise, the meal went on without a hitch. Maybe it wasn't quite up to par with her mother's constant spectacular home cooked meals, but everyone was more than happy as they sat around the table, empty plates in front of them.

And when everything was washed and put away, they made their way into the living room. Snow and Charming sat on the couch, James asleep in his father's arms, while Regina and Robin sat nearby. Belle was on the floor, helping Anne unwrap her gifts, and Rumple stood watching. Neal and Tink were standing, but holding hands and keeping as close to one another as possible. Finally, Killian sat in one of the chairs, Emma on his lap as they watched Henry help Roland put together something made out of legos. What, they couldn't quite tell.

Suddenly Neal cleared his throat, causing the entire room to look at him. "I have...we have an announcement" he said, looking at Tink. "We're getting married!" The room erupted, first with Henry running to give his dad and newest mom a hug, followed by Roland, who loved hugs. Everyone else followed suit, first with Emma and Killian, then Rumple and Belle, and so on and so forth. In the process, Charming handed James to Killian, who smiled down at his baby brother-in-law with admiration. Emma noticed, once again, from across the room, and smiled to herself.

And quietly, she slipped out of the room, grabbing her coat as she walked out the door. Killian noticed her absence instantly, handing James to Snow before catching his own coat from the rack and following his wife outside.

"Emma?" he asked once he made his way onto the street. She was standing a few feet away, looking like she was ready to take a walk like she sometimes did. Emma stopped and looked at him, gesturing for him to join her, which he did, grasping her hand as he caught up. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. I just needed out of there for a few minutes."

"This doesn't have anything to do with Neal, does it?" he asked quickly. Even after she had chosen him two years previous, Killian still worried that she would leave him for Neal sometimes. He knew that she still loved him, and always would no matter what, but that it was more of a friendly love than anything else. Still, he worried.

"No, no" she insisted. "Nothing like that." Emma stopped and looked at him, "I love you, and I've married you for a reason." She pulled him into a kiss, but he pulled back with worried eyes.

"Then what's bothering you, and don't say nothing because you know I can read you…"

"Like an open book." She sighed, "I don't know. I just…"

"Just what?"

Emma smiled nervously, "I have this Christmas gift for you." Slowly she walked away from him, but continued to hold his hand so he would follow. "I just don't know how to give it to you. In fact I'm not even sure it's what you want."

"Emma, you know I'd love whatever you got me, because I love you more than anything in this world. You could get me nothing and I'd still love you."

"That's good" she continued, "But first, I have a question for you."

"Ask away, Love" he said, moving to her side once more so he wasn't behind her.

"You love Henry like he's your own son, right?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Of course I do."

"And when you held James tonight, you looked down at him and had this ridiculous smile on your face."

"Right" he continued, stretching out the syllables in confusion. "What are you getting at here, Lass?"

"Why was that? Why were you smiling?"

Killian stopped, holding tightly to her hand so she spun back to him and straight into his waiting arms, which looped around her, enveloping her in his warm embrace. "Because...I don't know. I guess he's just so little, and it got me thinking."

Emma smiled up at him, "Thinking about what?"

"Gods this is going to sound crazy, but I was thinking about how maybe that would be my own baby someday, that I could hold a little me or a little you" he commented, kissing her forehead before meeting her gaze again.

"That's not crazy Killian" she reassured him.

"Wait, why are you asking me all of this?"

"Because," she said, stopping for a moment, stepping away slowly and running her hands down his arms. Taking his left hand in hers, she brought it to her stomach, "this is your Christmas present."

Killian looked shocked to say the least, his eyes going quickly from their hands on her stomach to her smiling face and back and forth again and again, "You're….you're?" he managed to stutter out and Emma's smile only widened as she nodded.

"You know that little you or little me that you were holding in your head? They're in there Killian. You're going to be a father."

"I...I am? And you're going to be a mother...again, I mean? With my baby? With our baby?"

"That's generally how it works" she laughed. Suddenly he picked her up, twirling her around and kissing her firmly, his hand in her hair as he set her back down on the sidewalk. Emma wrapped her hands around his waist, pulling him against her, and when they pulled away she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"How long have you known?" he asked, resting his head up against hers.

"I found out two days ago, and I wanted to wait until later tonight to tell you, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore."

"That's why you came out here" he continued for her, pulling away so his eyes could meet her own. He blew out a breath of air that fogged because of the cold, and he looked off into space, "I'm going to be a father."

"Yes, and a wonderful one at that" she said, her hand on his jaw, encouraging him to look back at her. She kissed him again before grabbing his hand and pulling him along back to the apartment. "Come on, let's get back to the party."

"We're not going to tell them tonight, are we?" he asked, catching up with her.

"Nah, we'll let Neal and Tink have tonight. But tomorrow" Emma continued, looking at him and stealing another quick kiss, "tomorrow is all ours." With that she let go of his hand and ran back towards the apartment, her husband hot on her heals. He caught her and spun her around one more time before they walked back into the apartment, hand in hand.

And when they walked in, they were ambushed by Henry, who had just one question: "Hey mom, why wasn't there a present from you to Killian?"


	5. One More

**I was watching a movie earlier today where a person was in the hospital...and then I remembered a prompt where it said that Emma was in the hospital and Killian refused everyone who told him he couldn't see her. And then I was listening to one of my favorite songs and it all came together to make this. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time, CaptainSwan would have a kiss every single episode. In fact, they'd have their own show. **

**I love reviews too. They make me happy. =) **

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

One More

It had been two and a half months since she made her choice. 72 days since she was last in his arms. 1,728 hours since her eyes met his as she said goodbye. 103,680 minutes since she explained to him that she had to do this, for Henry. 6,220,800 seconds since he lost her.

Not that he was counting.

Now, Killian Jones sat at the counter at Granny's, nursing the beer in front of him. He had run out of rum earlier that week, and couldn't bring himself to buy anymore. Getting himself drunk was, for once, not the solution. It didn't help him forget. In fact, it only made him think about her more. Because every time he saw her, sitting at Granny's with her family, walking down the street, her hand intertwined in his. They were a family, and he knew that it was for the best. A pirate could never be a good father anyway.

But it still didn't mean he didn't love her. And since he was still in this for the long haul, even if she wasn't his, he needed to make sure she was always ok. If there were to be another emergency, he would stand by her side just as he always did. Because he wanted her to be safe.

So when Mary Margaret and David suddenly jumped from their booth after taking a phone call and began to run out the door, Hook jumped up too, grabbing the Prince on the arm, "mate, what's going on?"

"It's Emma" he said breathlessly, pulling his arm away from the pirate's grasp.

Hook froze, his eyes searching for answers, but his arm never dropping to his side, "What about her?"

Charming stopped, looking to Mary Margaret for a moment and then back to Hook, "She's in the hospital. There's been an accident." When there were no further questions, Charming followed his wife out the door and they hurried to see their daughter.

Hook turned after the door closed to find the occupants of the diner staring at him. Ruby stepped out from behind the counter, "You ok?" she asked, putting her hand on his arm in a comforting move.

"Yeah, I just…"

"You should go. Do you want me to give you a ride to the hospital?" she asked, pulling him towards the door. He didn't move, staring off into blank space. She wasn't safe. He had failed. He wasn't there to protect her and now she was hurt. "Come on Hook, it'll be fine."

"I….I…" he stuttered before finally glancing at Ruby. "You'd...could you?"

"Of course" she said, grabbing her keys and walking out the door. Hook followed her, slowly, as if unsure of himself.

They made it to the hospital in record time, and Ruby followed him inside, despite the fact that he was almost running. He pushed through the doors, eyes searching everywhere for someone familiar, for her. He saw Henry and Neal, huddled in a chair. Mary Margaret and Charming were talking with Dr. Whale, and there, across the room and through another door, was Emma.

She was unconscious, cuts covering her face, blood in her blond hair. Her leg was in a cast and her arm in a sling. She was hurt and alone, and to Hook, looked lifeless. Eyes caught on him as he pushed his way through the room towards her, people reached towards him, grabbing his arms and holding him back. "Woah woah woah, you can't go in there" Whale said as they held Hook, but the pirate's eyes never left Emma. "Family only" Whale repeated.

It still didn't matter though, he glared at those around him, pulling his arms free, and pushed through the door. He knew that from the other side of the room, Henry and Neal had their eyes on him, and Mary Margaret watched him with eyes filled with tears. Hook walked up to her slowly, and everyone let him. He reached out his good hand and brushed it carefully against her forehead and through the hair framing her face.

She was so beautiful, even now, and suddenly he found tears in his own eyes as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "She's gone" Mary Margaret's voice told him. Her hand ran down his arm, much like Ruby's had done before. It was only then that he noticed she wasn't breathing, that her eyes would be closed forever. He'd never hear her voice again, not see her beautiful eyes or wrap his arms around her.

Those 72 days had turned into forever. And once again, he never even got to say goodbye. She was gone, just like Liam. Like Milah. Like Bae. Like everyone. Everything he loves leaves him.

"Come on, there's nothing you can do" Charming told him, having joined his wife, holding her in his arms, tight against his body as she cried into his shoulder.

"No" he said suddenly. "No" he repeated, this time stronger. "I'm not giving up on her. I can't lose her too!" His voice was rising, "I love her and I vowed to protect her, and now she's here dead. How is that right? I failed her."

And then the tears were released. Killian looked back at her family, now all standing in the room looking at him. Henry was crying, but their eyes met, and he moved to look at Neal. Mary Margaret and Charming stood closer, looking at him all the same. And suddenly he turned, returning his hand to her hair, "Please. Just let me say goodbye."

Behind him he heard them usher out, one after another. And when he figured they were gone, he broke. His head settled on her chest, tears escaping from his eyes as he cried. He hadn't cried since Milah. He knew he shouldn't. That he should be stronger than this. But he had failed her.

There would never be one more night. No more time, not like he had asked of her when she had said goodbye. She would never run her fingers through his hair, and they would never hold hands, never sit under the moonlight.

All he wanted was one more night. One morning, one everything. To say goodbye. To tell her one more time that he loved her. And he wouldn't get any of it. They wouldn't get any of it.

But as he pulled away slowly, he realized he could at least kiss her one more time. He knew it wouldn't work, that she didn't love him and that this wouldn't be true love's kiss, but he needed it. He had to say goodbye.

So ever so slowly, he ran his fingers down her face and cupped her cheek as he kissed her, his lips warm against her cold. And there was no magic, no life in her body, no more Emma. He placed one more kiss on her forehead and turned, walking slowly away. His head hung low, and his hand on the door.

"Killian?"

He stopped, his hand gripping the handle of the door so tightly that his hand turned white with the effort. He was imagining things. She was dead. He had to accept that he'd never hear her voice…

"Killian, what? Where...am I?" she asked, and he turned, his blue eyes meeting her green. They were weak, but they were there, open. Alive.

"Emma?" he asked carefully, unsure if this was real. "You're...how are you?"

"Where am I?" she asked again, obviously confused.

"You're in the hospital" he explained, walking back towards her bed. He glanced behind him, searching for anyone. "You were in an accident. You…you were…" he said before suddenly grabbing her hand and holding it tightly against him as tears escaped again.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" she continued to question. "Why are you here? Where's Henry? My parents?"

"You were dead Emma" he finally said, his eyes raising to meet hers. "You left me."

She smirked, "You really thought I would leave you?" she asked. "Wait. If I was dead, how am I alive?"

**~K&E~**

"I can't explain it" Whale said, looking over her charts. Everyone was back in the room. Henry sat next to his mother on the bed, Neal stood nearby. Emma's parents took their place next to the bed, and Killian sat in a chair on the otherside of the room, his eyes looking away from everyone else. "She was, in every way, dead. I haven't seen anything like this. Not since…" he said, his eyes finding Henry and then looking between Hook and Emma.

"True love's kiss" Henry whispered. He jumped off the bed and walked towards Killian, who didn't look up. "Did you kiss my mom?" Henry asked when he reached him.

Hook sighed, "I did. But there wasn't any magic or anything. Your mother is not my true love. Sorry lad."

"No. It was. It had to be" he insisted.

"Henry, stop" he heard Emma's voice, and Hook met her gaze.

"But you love her, right?" Henry asked Hook, and he responded with a slow nod.

"I will love her until the end of my days."

Then Henry suddenly turned to look at Emma, "Mom? Do you love him? Do you love Hook?"

Emma sighed, her gaze lifting from her son to Neal, and then back, "Yes. I do."

"And do you love Dad?"

The room was silent, all eyes on Emma as she took in a shaky breath. "No," she finally answered, and Killian's head jumped up, their eyes meeting once again.

"Then it's settled. True love's kiss" he said proudly. "To be honest, I wanted you to be with dad," he continued, going back towards his mother, "I thought that because you had me and because I had the heart of the truest believer and everything that meant that you two were true loves. But dad kissed you earlier. Nothing happened. Hook kissed you and you woke back up."

"But there was no magic" Hook said plainly.

"I think I have an explanation for that" Whale interjected. "It doesn't always happen, but magic is strange in this town after all the curses and such. Mary Margaret," he continued, turning to face her, "when you read to David when he was in his coma, he began to wake up. It is unlikely, but Emma, at most you were only truly dead for a short while. It doesn't happen often but…"

"It doesn't matter" Henry continued. "Look Mom. I only want you to be happy. I know you only got back together with my dad for me, and if that's not making you happy then I'm not happy either."

With that, Emma looked to Neal and sighed. She looked at everyone else, "Could I just...could we have a moment?" she asked, and Hook was the first to stand, pushing out the door quickly. Behind him Henry and the rest of the room followed, leaving Emma alone with Neal.

**~K&E~**

"She wants to see you" Neal spoke softly from behind Hook. He didn't move. "Look, I understand that we've had some rough times, and it's taken me a while, but I believe you. I understand why you did what you did, and you know what? You said a while back that you were going to step down because it's the honorable thing to do, that you wanted what was best for Emma and Henry. And Hook, I'm telling you right now that it's not me. Emma loves you."

Hook sighed and turned to meet his gaze, "How could she ever love a pirate?"

"You know, I remember a time, long, long ago, when you said that you would change for me. I didn't believe you, but you have. You're not a pirate Hook, you're not the cruel and selfish man I thought you were when I met you in Neverland. You're honorable, and that's why Emma loves you. But to be honest, even if you were a pirate, through and through, I'm pretty sure she'd still love you then too. Now go" he finished, pushing Killian towards the doors that would lead him back to Emma. "And take care of her" Neal said with a smile. Hook returned it before rushing back through the doors.

And they wouldn't have one more night, not one more morning. They would have every night, and every morning. With him by her side. Forever.


	6. In the Rain

**Happy New Year everyone! **

**We're going to pretend for a moment that Going Home never happened and that Panry was never a thing, because that's just how things are going to work right now. But Hook still told Neal that he's going to back off, and Emma has, therefore, "Decided" to find her happy ending with Neal. **

**So here is the fluff that came out of that and a scene from How I Met Your Mother I watched yesterday. Also, Daddy Charming! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time, there would never be a hiatus. We'd just have new episodes ALL THE TIME! Sadly...that won't be happening because I don't own Once Upon a Time. **

**I love it when people review! It makes me so happy! =)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

In the Rain

When he said he'd back off, Killian Jones never thought it would make him feel this bad. Nothing worked in his attempts to forget her. Not rum, not sleep, not sailing, and certainly not flirting with other women. That just made him feel guilty, and in return, worse about the whole situation.

He had to admit it. He was, what Ruby called, a lovesick puppy, and he wasn't getting any better. As the temperatures grew colder, he had to abandon his ship for the nights, and therefore found himself staying in a room at Granny's. Without money to pay them for it, he did basic work around the place, helping with upkeep in exchange for food and a warm place to stay. But not even throwing himself in the work kept his mind off of Emma.

She, of course, had found her happy ending with Neal. They spent their days together. Charming and Snow had moved out of the apartment and into a house of their own, leaving open space for Neal to move in with Emma. Which he had. They lived there, with Henry from time to time in their agreement with Regina. Hook would see them walking around town with one another, stealing the occasional kiss here and there. And she seemed happy. Her parents were obviously happy with the arrangement. Their daughter finally finding her true love, just as they had.

But he could still read her like an open book. While he tried to drown it out with rum, there was a small part of him that screamed she wasn't happy. He saw it in the look she would flash him from time to time as she sat with her family in a booth at Granny's. He saw it in the way she would pull away from Neal as soon as she got to the station in the morning, since he always insisted to walk with her to work. He saw it in the forced smiles she would give Henry when he knew they were talking about Neal.

Emma was hurt, and while everyone else figured she was happy, Hook knew she wasn't.

Still, he had a promise, and he was a man of honor. He wasn't going to back down on his word now. He said he'd stay away, for the sake of Henry, because Henry was more important to Emma than anything else in the world, and if he was important to her, then Henry was important to him. He just wanted the boy to be happy. Hook had ruined Neal's childhood, and he didn't intend to ruin another young life. Because of Henry, he wasn't going to go after her. He may be a pirate, but wouldn't break a promise.

**~K&E~**

Hook was, once again, attempting to drown himself in rum when a knock sounded at the door of his cabin. It wasn't hesitant, but strong and firm, a knock that, honestly, Hook had never heard before. Reluctantly, he stood from his place at the table, leaving his rum sitting there, and went to open the door.

"I was starting to think you weren't here" Charming said, obviously a little on edge. He didn't make a move to come in immediately, but laughed a bit at the shocked expression Hook knew was lining his own face. "May I come in?"

"Yes, of course mate" Hook returned, stepping out of the doorway to let the prince through. He closed the door behind him, intent on keeping the chilled air out of his cabin. "Care for some rum?"

"I suppose it can't hurt" Charming admitted, sitting in the chair across from where Hook had been previously, obvious due to the pulled out chair. Hook moved to the other side of the room to get a second glass and poured him a helping of rum before handing it over. The prince took a quick swig and proceeded to make a face at the burn of the intense alcohol.

"Still not used to rum?" Hook asked with a smile as he poured more for himself and sat down.

"Nah, not quite yet. Although I have to admit, after Neverland I've had it once or twice" he laughed. "How have you been Hook?"

He sighed, his eyes catching on the rum glass sitting before him. He traced the edges of it with his good hand, as if deep in thought, "It's been illuminating, I suppose. Been staying with Granny and Red for some time, mostly because it's bloody cold on this ship once the sun sets."

"I believe that. It's cold enough now. But you know that's not what I was asking about."

His eyes shot up to meet Charming's. Of course he knew. The whole bloody town probably knew by now. He would go do his work and then sit at the bar in Granny's nursing a beer every night. Whenever Emma walked in his eyes would light up for a moment and then darken. He'd stare at her for a while before turning back to the bar and ordering another drink. And Hook knew that Charming had witnessed the scene more than once. "I don't know what you mean mate."

"Hook, you've been looking worse and worse over the past few weeks. I'm going to assume you've at least taken a shower, but your hair is all over the place, you haven't stopped wearing your pirate garb even though I know several people have offered to buy you new clothing and all you ever do is your work for Granny before sitting and attempting to get yourself drunk. Hell, I've even heard from Tink about how you hit on her a few weeks ago, along with multiple other women, but no longer do."

"Is it a crime to not seduce women here? Gods, of all people, I thought you would be the one to enforce the opposite" Hook returned, his eyes traveling back to look at his glass. He finally picked it up and swallowed the rest of the rum in it, setting the glass back down carefully.

Charming sighed, "I heard about what you told Neal."

"Hear that from him, did you? About how surprised he is that a pirate can be honorabl…"

"I heard it from Emma."

Again, Hook's eyes shot up, only this time at the mention of her name. "And what did she have to say about it?" he asked quietly.

"Look," Charming continued, taking another drink of his own rum and therefore breaking the gaze, allowing Hook to turn back to his own empty glass, "I'm her father, sort of. I mean, biologically I am, but emotionally, more often than not, I couldn't be further from her as a father. But once and a while I do get her to talk to me, and I do happen to know when she's upset. Maybe not as often as you but…"

"How should I know when she's upset?" he interrupted.

"She also may have mentioned the whole 'open book' thing. About how you knew she was an orphan without her telling you, and long before she was able to admit it in Neverland." Hook looked shocked for a moment, but soon motioned with his hand for him to continue. "She's not happy Hook. A few months ago, right after Neverland, Snow and I wanted nothing more than to see Emma happy with her true love. At the time we thought it was Neal. Heck, Snow still thinks it's Neal, but I have reason to see otherwise."

Hook sighed in response, filling his glass with more rum, "And why is that, Dave?"

"She misses you."

"Emma misses me?" he asked, his eyebrows raising naturally. "Me, a one handed pirate with a drinking problem? That's real humerous mate. So tell me, why did you come here, really? To irritate me enough to get me to leave forever? Because that's never going to happen. I said I was in this for the long haul and I'm not going to leave. I'm not going to abandon ship like he did. That's not good form. I will never leave. Why? Because I love…"

Emma. He was about to say Emma. And something in Hook told him that Charming could have stopped him at any time, but the prince knew that he had to get an admission out of the pirate somehow. "I suppose I should finish my half of the story" Charming admitted, taking another drink. "Last week Snow insisted I bring some of the cookies she just made over to Emma. It was later in the day, but I figured I'd stop by anyways. So I go up there and I'm about to knock on the door when I heard something."

"Oh gods, please don't…"

"No no" he insisted, his face growing somewhat red, "It wasn't anything like that. I heard them fighting Hook. And do you know what they were fighting about?"

"No mate, I do not know what they were fighting out" Hook said sarcastically, which only made Charming frown a bit.

"They were fighting about you. I didn't know it until the next day when I saw Emma and she actually let me in past her walls for once, but that's what they were fighting about. Emma mentioned something about how Henry wanted to come take sailing lessons and it just went from there. Turns out she never actually found out about how you were backing off because of Henry, and apparently that day we got back from Neverland, right after you told Neal that, he asked her out on a date and told her that if she didn't come he would back off. Snow and I had no idea, although we knew he had asked her out, and we were excited to see the possibility of a happy ending for her…"

_"He said what?" Emma asked, now obviously annoyed. "He said he was going to back off? Tell me Neal, what exactly did he say?"_

_"I don't know, Emma, please, just calm down." Neal pleaded, "What does it matter what he said?"_

_"What matters is that you've never told me about this. I don't care what was going on between us Neal, or what might have been going on between me and Hook, but we were friends. And then all of a sudden he just disappeared from my life."_

_"Well it sounds to me like you still love him!" Neal returned finally, slamming his fist down on the table._

_Emma threw the spoon she had been using to stir her hot chocolate down on the counter and dashed over to Neal so they were standing face to face. "Tell me exactly what he said, now."_

_"He said that he was going to back down for the sake of Henry, Emma. That he didn't want to pull another family apart like he did mine. He's a villain! How can't you see that?"_

_"Maybe the villain here is you Neal, did you ever think about that? Did you even pay attention to what he said? Do you remember what you told me that night? That if I didn't show at the diner that next day you'd leave me alone?"_

_"Yeah, but…"_

_"But I didn't come, did I?" she asked. "And yet here we are. You bothered me for weeks after that. But you know who kept his promise?" She was met with silence, and then quickly walked to the door, grabbing her coat on the way. "Killian did."_

"What happened then?" Hook asked, his eyes wide and interested in the story Charming related to him, his drink long forgotten now.

"She went to Granny's and stayed the night there. The next morning she came to our house, and while Snow went to get a few things for her from the apartment, I sat and talked with her. She's been at Granny's ever since. In fact, I'm surprised you haven't seen her."

"She's been there?" he questioned, pondering any signs there may have been of his Swan's presence. He had noted that another door just down the hall would open and close every so often, indicating that there was a fellow resident, but he never saw the person. And she had been in the diner, alone, more often than she usually was.

"Ever since. I mean, she leaves for work and stuff, but Henry's been staying with Regina this whole week."

"Why didn't she just kick Neal out? That seems more Swan-like to me."

Charming laughed, "That is one I can't answer you. But I think she just needed to get out and leaving was easier than kicking him out. Emma's like that sometimes. She would do the same thing when she was angry with me or Mary Margaret after they got back from the Enchanted Forest last summer. It doesn't make much sense, but it's better than her throwing the toaster?"

Hook looked confused, "throwing the what?"

"Toaster...it's...nevermind. I'll show you sometime" Charming insisted with a wave of his hand. "The important thing right now is that, while you probably weren't my first choice for Emma, you've proved yourself time and time again. And I happen to know that she could really use a friend right now. Not necessarily a relationship, but a friend."

"And you're saying that I'm that friend? That I should go find her? Mate, that sounds great, but I'd be breaking my…"

"Henry only wants what's best for Emma, and Emma only wants what's best for Henry. Honestly Hook, if Emma isn't happy, then Henry isn't either. They're a package deal, and you of all people seem to accept that." Charming finished the last of his rum and set his glass back on the table. "I'm not saying that you have to do anything, but for what it's worth, I've changed my mind. You're good for her. Doesn't mean I won't cut off your other hand if you try any funny business, but you get the idea" he laughed.

"Yeah mate, I think I do."

**~K&E~**

It had been a couple of days since her fight with Neal, but Emma was still fuming. She had thought months ago that she had actually made her choice. She had picked Neal, because Hook obviously was no longer interested. He was off flirting with Tink and Ruby, drinking himself silly. He had moved on, just like everyone else always did.

She wasn't going to lie, it hurt to watch him with the other girls. In all honesty, if he hadn't suddenly walked away from her, she would have probably ended up choosing him. Yes, she loved Neal, but not in the same way she did eleven years ago. Not in the way Henry wanted her to. She wasn't happy, but she knew she would go back to him anyways, for Henry. So they could be a family like he wanted.

Emma had been pacing back and forth through the room for the last hour or so. A bottle of wine was open, a glass almost empty, sitting on the dresser on one side of the room. The things Mary Margaret had brought her a couple days ago were sitting either crumpled up on the floor or still in the bag. Her hair was largely a mess, and she hadn't changed out of the black leggings, tank top and sweatshirt she had worn to bed the night before.

A knock sounded at the door, and while she didn't really want to answer it, she knew she had to. So Emma moved to open it, revealing Neal standing on the other side. "Neal...I…" she started, willing herself not to slam the door in his face.

"Look, Emma. I'm sorry. I should have at least told you about Hook, and you're right. I didn't keep my promise. I said I was going to give you space and I didn't do that."

"Damn right you didn't" Emma returned, making no move to let him into the room. "Look, Neal, I really don't want to talk about this right…"

Suddenly her phone, which was sitting next to the bottle of wine, started buzzing. With a look at Neal, she motioned for him to come into the room as she moved to pick up her phone. Neal shut the door behind himself. "David" the screen read, and Emma made a mental note to change that to "Dad" sometime in the future. She still wasn't used to the whole "parents that are the same age as you" thing, but she'd have to actually call them mom and dad all the time eventually, as weird as it may be.

With another sigh, Emma hit the answer button and held the phone up to her ear, "Hello?"

"Emma, I think you should open your window" came David's voice over the line.

She almost laughed. "What?" Emma asked, looking at the window. Rain was pelting against it, so she wasn't going to open it if she didn't have to. "Why?"

"Because...just...trust me. Open the window and look down. Oh, and have a nice night." With that, David ended the call, leaving a very confused Emma in the middle of her room at Granny's, Neal staring at her expectantly. Looking at her phone for a minute, and then back at the window, she set the phone down on the dresser back where it had been previously and moved to open the window.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Neal asked as she did so. "It's pouring rain!"

When she had the window open she leaned to look out of it, drops of a cold rain hitting her immediately and Neal still complaining behind her.

But down below her window, out on the sidewalk next to the building, was Hook. He was dressed, surprisingly, in normal clothing that looked a lot like David's clothes, and was holding flowers in his good hand. He was looking up at her, soaking wet, his hair matted to his forehead, but his eyes as bright blue as ever.

Holding up her finger to silently tell him she'd be down in a minute, she closed the window. Emma pulled on her boots and grabbed her jacket. "Emma, what in the world is going on?" Neal asked her again. "Why did you open the window? Who was on the phone?" Emma opened the door and started running down the stairs, "Where are you going? We're not done with this!" he yelled after her.

She passed a very confused looking Ruby, who was sitting at the front desk, but continued without a word. Once outside, the cold rain hit her, but for some reason, she still didn't care. He was standing there for her, holding out the flowers, his eyes locked on hers as if he never wanted to let go.

"Why are you here?" she asked him as she got closer. Upon further inspection, he _was_ wearing some of David's clothes, easily identified by one of her father's leather jackets and the plaid button up shirt. "It's freezing out here and you're soaking wet, and now I am to and…:

"I'm sorry" he said, holding out the flowers for her to take. They had wilted a bit from the chilly rain, but they were still beautiful none the less. She accepted them and took a moment to inhale their sweet aroma. "I'm sorry for everything. For anything I ever did to you, but mostly for abandoning you."

"Hook...Neal is upstairs" she said, her eyes not willing to meet his.

"Oh. I see" he said simply, looking up at the window where he had seen her only moments before. "Then why are you here, if your true love is up there?"

"He's not my true love" Emma returned, setting the flowers down a nearby bench. She turned back to him and placed her fingers gently on his chin, turning his head to look at her. Their eyes met and she continued, "You said back in Neverland that once we got back here that the fun would begin. You said that you'd never give up, that you'd win my heart. But you know something? I don't know if you ever needed to try to win my heart.. I love Neal, very much so, but I think I love the Neal that I knew years ago. The one that gave me Henry. And I always will. But right now...these passed few weeks I've missed _you_."

"I've missed you too" he let out, letting his own fingers travel up to trail over her cheek. Her hair was matted against her skin now, her clothing just as wet as his. "I'm so sorry Emma."

"No no no, I'm the one who's sorry. I should have made my choice, the right choice, a long time ago. I should have told you how I felt at least. Shouldn't have let my jealousy get in the way."

"You were jealous, Love?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face and his tone growing deeper.

Emma laughed, "Yeah, I guess you could say I was. But that's not the point. I think I've known this whole time that it wasn't Neal who won my heart, in whatever weird battle you two might of had over it because I could never imagine anyone wanting a broken orphan, much less two of you, but it was you. It was you the whole time."

"Emma, I love you no matter how broken you are, because no matter what, you helped fix me, and maybe if you'll let me I can help fix you too. That is, if you'll forgive me. You never actually gave me an answer for that."

"You, Killian are forgiven for whatever it is you want me to forgive you for. Because even after all this time, you came back" she finished before pulling him into a kiss. He responded in kind, and wrapped his left arm around her back, his hook resting at the small of it and pulling her closer to him. His hand wove its way into her damp hair, and he kissed her with all the love and emotion he had been holding in for the past few months.

When they did finally pull away he smiled at her, "Well, if you must know, I had a bit of help from your dear father."

"Really?" Emma asked with a laugh as she pulled away to look at his attire once again, "I would have had no idea." She moved back and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Neal is still up there you know" he commented, but he kept his arms around her, not willing to let her go just yet.

"I know he is. And he can stay there. I'll have to deal with him soon enough. Right now though, do you want to go get some hot chocolate?"

"That stuff that you and Henry are always drinking?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in questioning. Emma nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the diner, grabbing her flowers off the bench. "I'd love to" he finished and followed her.

Once inside, Killian noticed Charming sitting in a booth with Snow, and he gave him a smile. He saw the expression on Snow's face when she realized that Emma was holding his hand, but Charming quickly made an excuse and, with a pat on the back as they passed by, they left. Neal eventually found them too, stopping dead in his tracks in the doorway. He looked angry, but left without a word. That was a battle for another day. So they sat there, at the counter, soaking wet, drinking their hot cocoa like they had all the time in the world.

And they did, because even though the rain wasn't letting up anytime soon, they would be together until long, long after the last drops hit the pavement.


	7. Nightmares

**I finally, after almost two months, saw Catching Fire. I love the Hunger Games (not quite as much as Once, but it was probably my first legitimate fandom), and the one scene that really stuck out to me was the scene where Katniss wakes up with a nightmare and Peeta rushes into her room on the train and then she asks him to stay with her. So that's what inspired this.**

**In my brain it's super cold in Storybrooke, way too cold for Hook to be out on the Jolly in the middle of winter, so Emma ends up inviting him to stay in the spare bedroom of the apartment through the winter. They aren't specifically in a relationship, but Emma is in the middle of working things out between Killian an Neal. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Once. I wish I did. But I don't. Darn.**

**I love reviews, if you have a minute or two! =) Enjoy!**

* * *

Nightmares

They were there, on the island again. Pan stood next to Henry. She could see the fear in her son's eyes, but there was nothing she could do. No way that she could save him. Because he didn't trust her. He didn't believe her. He was lost, and he wanted to be the hero. Emma stood, helpless to do anything as Henry reached for his heart, pulling it out of his chest before she could stop him, and placing it in the body of Pan.

Henry fell limp on the ground and Emma screamed out for him, and suddenly she woke up, blackness surrounding her. Her bedroom door flew open, Hook standing in the doorway, terror filling his eyes.

When he saw that she was ok he calmed, his shoulders relaxing and some of the fright leaving his bright blue eyes. Emma noticed that he was dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his hair rumpled and flying every which way. He had his hook attached to his left arm, probably put on with haste as he woke to her screams.

"I...I'm sorry" she whispered, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

"It's fine. I used to get them too" he responded, not moving any further into the room.

She looked at him with tired eyes, "Milah?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "Milah, among others." Emma knew that something had happened to his brother. David had told her briefly about it back in Neverland, but when she prompted the pirate about it, he had shut her out, his walls going up faster than she had ever seen before.

They were silent then, neither willing to move or say anything. Eventually Hook turned, "I'll leave you be, Love. Try to get some…"

"Killian" she started, and he froze, "Will you stay?"

He turned slowly, the fear long gone from his eyes and replaced with a mixture of love and the emotions that made up his past, of the fact that she had called him by his real name. That she had finally seen past his moniker and past Captain Hook. "Yeah. Yeah, of course" he said, his voice firm and grounding for Emma as he took a step back into the room.

Emma moved the comforter to allow him space to slide in next to her. He closed the door and moved towards the bed, taking off his hook as he did so and placing it on the bedside table when he reached it. The mattress dipped lightly as he sat down on the bed, swinging his legs up. Emma waited for him to get adjusted to the bed before crawling next to him, resting her head on his chest. His arm came around her automatically, pulling her closer into his embrace.

He kissed the top of her hair, "Sleep well Emma."

And for the first time since Neverland, she did.


	8. Connemara Cradle

This idea popped into my head earlier today when I was listening to Colin's beautiful voice...and the fact that I am currently very much ready for sleep. I mean, we all need some CaptainSwan super adorableness and some Daddy Killian in our day, don't we?

The song Killian sings is actually an Irish Folksong, Connemara Cradle. It talks of the sea and is, indeed, sung as a lullaby. And for those interested, a "currach" is a kind of old fashioned canoe. The title comes from Connemara, a region in County Galway, in Western Ireland. I thought it fit pretty well, and you should look it up on YouTube because it is honestly a very beautiful song.

I always love reviews. They make me sleep well. =)

Disclaimer: That "splashy wedding" that's apparently at the end of S3? If I owned Once it would be a CaptainSwan wedding...or they would at least dance. Or she'd catch the bouquet or something. Anything. We can hope, right?

Enjoy!

* * *

Connemara Cradle

Emma wasn't tired. She was exhausted. With Henry, she had never actually been there to take care of him as a newborn, at least she hadn't in real life. Her false memories provided her with some knowledge of what caring for a young child was like, but what they hadn't prepared her for was how utterly tiring it all was.

Hope had been born only a few weeks ago. She was absolutely beautiful, with the soft tufts of blonde hair on her head and her bright blue eyes that were a perfect match to her father's. And while she was generally quiet, it seemed that the trait she had inherited from her mother, other than hair color, was her stubborness. She could easily put up a fight when she wanted to, and she seemed to do it more often than not with Emma the past few days, leaving her just about dead on her feet.

It was dark out, and Emma had handed Hope over to Killian a few minutes previous, taking a much needed break to grab a bite to eat before heading to bed herself, intent on getting at least a couple hours of sleep before her daughter woke once again.

But as Emma walked past the nursury towards her own bedroom, she heard a voice. Pausing and pushing open the door a bit further, she found her husband. He had pulled up a chair next to Hope's crib and had his hand over the side of it, gently stroking his daughter's cheek as he sang, "On wings of the wind o'er the dark rolling deep, Angels are coming to watch over thy sleep, Angels are coming to watch over thee, So list to the wind coming over the sea." His voice was gentle and soft, and Emma hung in the doorway, leaning up against the frame as she listened. "Hear the wind blow, love, hear the wind blow, Hang your head o'er and hear the wind blow, Hear the wind blog, love, and hear the wind blow, Hang your head o'er, love, and hear the wind blow."

Emma found tears in her eyes as she finally stepped forward, her hands reaching out over Killian's shoulders. He looked up at her, eyes as bright as she had ever seen them. He pulled his hand back from the crib and Emma carefully sat down on his lap, her head resting neatly on his shoulder, watching the young girl sleeping soundly.

"I didn't disturb you, did I?" he asked quietly, running his hand over her arm.

"No" Emma whispered back. "It's just I've never heard you sing before."

"I'm a pirate, Love, I know my fair share of songs to sing."

"I'm surprised, no mention of rum in the song, huh?" she laughed, nuzzling against his neck. He wrapped his arm tighter around her, pulling her closer to him.

He smiled at her joke, "No, not in this one. It's a lullaby."

"Sing it again?" she asked him with a yawn.

"As you wish, Emma" Killian replied simply before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "The currachs are sailing way out on the blue, Chasing the herring of silvery hue, Silver the herring and silver the sea, Soon they'll be silver for my love and me." It wasn't a long verse, but when Killian looked down he saw the two things he loved the most, both soundly asleep. He wondered for a moment how he was so lucky, to have the woman he loved to the ends of the earth and a beautiful daughter that was the perfect combination of them both.

So, not ready to end the perfect moment, he pressed another kiss to the top of his wife's head and did the only thing he could think of. He finished the song, "Hear the wind blow, love, hear the wind blow, Hang your head o'er and hear the wind blow, Hear the wind blow, love, hear the wind blow, Hang your head o'er, love, and hear the wind blow."


	9. Alive

**I've been having some writers block, just looking for that perfect prompt for the next chapter, and finally I found it today. I follow a tumblr blog called CSTreasure, which is brand new, and one of the prompts there was as follows: **

_**It's been done a lot but, Killian comes back from a long journey - a few months late. Emma has shut down and is emotionless because she thinks he's dead. He has to convince her he's real, alive and with her. **_

**So I took that and just kind of started writing. I'm not totally sure I love how it turned out, but I'm running off of not a lot of sleep and am really just procrastinating on my homework (which I'm about to go do as soon as I finish this), so yeah. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Once Upon a Time...well...we would not all be going absolutely insane right now for one. **

**Enjoy, and remember that I'd love to hear from you! I do my best to answer all reviews! =)**

* * *

Alive

If there was one thing in the universe that Emma Swan could rid herself of forever, it would be having to say goodbye. She hated it; absolutely despised it. When she had given birth to Henry, she had avoided looking at him, forcing the doctor to take her son away without even one small glance, because she knew that if she had set her eyes on him, she would have had to say goodbye. She avoided it.

When she had been in Storybrooke for months and made the split second, and terrible decision, to run with Henry in tow, she had taken him along, just so she wouldn't have to say goodbye to the son she had fallen in love with, just like she knew she would have had she looked at him as a baby. She left Mary Margaret without as much as a note, all because she had found not only a friend, but a family in the woman who had so welcomingly opened her home. And so, again, Emma Swan avoided saying goodbye.

Barely months later, after returning to Storybrooke only to be sent off on a ridiculous journey through the Enchanted Forest and then eventually to Neverland and back, she attempted to avoid it once more. She hugged half the town, wishing them well as she prepared to drive across the town line, again with Henry, and leave Storybrooke behind forever. And after saying goodbye to her parents and Neal, she walked towards the bug, intent on not saying the hardest goodbye at all.

But he caught her, and he was stronger than she was. When her green eyes met his blue ones, she couldn't hold it back, and a sob left her unwillingly. Still, he looked at her with strength and want and hope and, dare she say it, love. Maybe she wasn't to the point where she could admit that someone could love her, and that she could love them in return, but she managed to say "good," and gave him one last glance in her rearview mirror before driving across the line as the purple cloud engulfed them.

Of course, it hadn't been forever. He had found her, their eyes meeting again, only she didn't remember him. It took quite some time before she was finally able to trust him enough to let him past her outer defenses, and once he was able to gain that trust, it didn't take long for her to remember just how important he really was to her. And in the months since, he had hardly left her side. Hook had shown just how much she could trust him, with others, with Henry, with herself, and she let him in once and for all.

So now, standing on the docks with tears in her eyes so similar to those she had worn back at the town line of Storybrooke, she could once again no longer avoid goodbye. He was as cocky as ever, but gentle, his arms wrapped around her, swaying them gently side to side and kissing the top of her head while it rested on his chest.

And as she stood at the end of the dock, watching as he sailed off, he stood at the stern and yelled out to her, "_I love you_!"

**~K&E~**

He was scheduled to be gone for a month. Four long weeks made up of 31 frightening days that she wouldn't know whether he was alive or whether the Witch had somehow found him and decided that killing him would be just as helpful as taking him as bait.

The first night was the hardest, and Emma found that she couldn't sleep, not without his warm presence by her side; without his arms tucked around her, his chest up against her back. Somehow she had made it through the night though, and luckily, after a few nights of restless sleep, she found herself passing out the moment she hit the bed.

And then a week went by, but still she stood on the docks every morning and every evening, looking towards the horizon. If you had told her a year ago that she would be standing there, worried sick about Captain Hook, she would have thought you crazy. When she had been with Neal and he would be late, she never worried. Something had just kept him tied up and he would come around eventually. But now that didn't matter anyways. So many had been lost to the war with the Witch, Neal included, and Emma found that she was terrified that Hook would become another one of them.

Soon a month had gone by, and on the day he was scheduled to arrive back, Emma stood on the docks, eagerly waiting the moment when she would see the tips of the sails of the Jolly Roger on the horizon. But as the sun set on the day and the stars came out, she never saw them. She stayed there until David and Mary Margaret found her, chilled to the bone and sitting in a heap on the dock.

When she woke the next morning, she reached out to find the bed next to her as cold as it had been for the last month, the sheets slowly losing his scent and bringing her less comfort each and every day. Somehow, she convinced herself that everything was fine. A day late wasn't terrible. Something just held him back, bad weather or something, and he would appear in the docks sometime that day.

But he didn't.

Another day went by, still no Hook. Another and another until days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. After about two weeks, Emma locked herself in her room, refusing to come out for anything other than food. Mary Margaret and David had moved back into the apartment for the time being, despite the fact that they had just bought themselves a new home. Henry was with Regina, although he never stopped trying to comfort Emma, bringing her hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon or attempting to cheer her up by asking if they could watch a movie.

After a month or so she finally decided she needed to do something. She had plenty of time to mourn, and the town wasn't going to run itself without its sheriff, even if everyone had been supportive during her leave. It was like someone had flipped a switch, and Emma found herself instantly going back to her life. Her parents moved back to their house, Henry would come to stay with her, and the war with the Witch waged on. Still, there had been no sign of the pirate and his ship, meaning that as long as he was gone, all she felt was empty inside. Her walls were up, so no one knew, but she was. There was a whole she just couldn't fill.

But even as she went about her daily life, each night before she went to bed, she could hear him, his voice echoing in her mind: "_I love you_."

**~K&E~**

Emma awoke to a pounding at the door downstairs. A quick glance at her clock told her that it was well into the middle of the night, around 2 in the morning. Silence once again filled the apartment, and she wondered if she had been dreaming until a second knock sounded.

Pushing the comforter away from her body and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Emma found her footing and walked down the stairs slowly, creeping to the door as a third knock filled the room. She opened the door after a quick glance to make sure her gun was still sitting on the table nearby, but when she opened the door she closed it faster than she had swung it open in the first place.

"Emma, please!" he called from the other side.

She pressed her back against the door and slid down it until she was sitting, "No! You're not real. You're not really here!"

He sighed, "I know what you must think. I'm months late, I know I am. The witch...she caught up with us. Stopped us from returning home when we were supposed to. But I assure you, I'm here now. Just please...open the door."

Tears sprang to her eyes, and while she still didn't believe it, she stood slowly and opened the door, looking at him with a questioning look. She was dreaming. He wasn't here. He was dead. Gone. The Witch had gotten him. _This. Wasn't. Real._

But it felt real, when he smiled at her and stepped forward, pulling her against his chest and into his embrace. It felt real when he pulled back and placed his hand on her cheek, running his thumb over the bone and forcing her to look at him. It sounded real when he spoke, "I'm here Emma. I'm fine. See? I'm alive" he continued, running his hook down her back and causing her to shiver.

"How? You...You're dead."

His voice lowered, "Emma. I'm alive. Trust me."

She shook her head and walked out of his embrace, turning away from him. He caught her arm, pulling her back and kissing her with everything he had. The pent up emotions from the last months rushing to the surface. And she knew. She just knew he was alive. That he was there. If anything could prove it to her, it was his kiss, their kiss: true love.

Because just as he had said to her months before, and as she had repeated every night he was gone, she whispered to him softly, "Killian,_ I love you_."


End file.
